Where in the world am I today?: Edmonton, AB, Canada
So…the opening weekend of the Edmonton International Street Performer’s Festival was a huge success and we’re just over the hump of the run. The shot that accompanies this post was taken yesterday (Tuesday) mid-afternoon in Winston Churchill Square, the performance venue where all of the shows take place… Obviously the weather presented some challenges yesterday. Everyone made it down for a cast/group photo at 10:30 am dancing between the raindrops to get from the hotel to City Hall (seen in the background) where the picture was taken.
Things cleared up a bit in the evening and some people did get shows in, but the weather is very much an issue when performing at Street Performing Festivals and certainly something to take into consideration before booking a tour who’s revenues are directly tied to the amount that the sun shines…
That being said, weather can even have a serious effect on contracted gigs. Last year during the Pacific National Exhibition the Fair had the wettest run on record. Often in Vancouver you’ll get a day where it rains in the morning and then clears up in the afternoon and people will still come out in support of an event if the weather clears. At last year’s PNE we had several days when the weather just got socked in and it rained all day and kept fair patrons away all day. Although this didn’t impact on the performers who were performing at the fair last year (2008) what happened as a result of decreased revenues was that the fees offered to the cast of the 2009 Street Stars Program took a pretty significant cut.
So what can you do on a day when an event gets hit by bad weather? Roll with the punches. At the PNE we looked into finding alternate rain venues so at least some of the shows could go up. Yesterday at the Edmonton International Street Performer’s Festival people remained in a holding pattern waiting for the weather to clear then got out and made the magic happen in spite of the conditions not being ideal.
Audiences can tell when you’re making an extra effort to overcome challenging situations and the bigger the attempt to make things work the more appreciative crowds tend to be. Of equal or possibly greater importance though is the impression you leave on your employer when you make an extra effort to make a show happen in spite of challenging circumstances. This sort of dedication will often lead to repeat bookings and long term business relationships.
